‘Under the Dome’: Exec talks changes in Stephen King adaptation

CBS making a bit move this summer when it comes to upping the ante on their scripted programming, and one such example of this is the addition of “Under the Dome,” the Stephen King adaptation that is going to launch with an enormous amount of fanfare on June 24.

So are the producers going for more of a “Game of Thrones” strict adaptation of the book, or something that is a little bit more along the lines of “The Walking Dead”? While speaking at WonderCon this weekend, the showrunner in Brian K. Vaughan teased that the plan here is to actually use the source material as more of a reference for some of the characters, and he also said that he had the original author’s blessing to do so:

“He told us, ‘Really use the book as a jumping off point. Use the characters, use the themes, but don’t be afraid to go to new places … [During a visit to the wrtiers’ room he was] really supportive of some things we changed from his book which I thought he was going to stab me for.”

One of the other interesting parts of this panel came with the revelation that Vaughan and the other producers already have an end in mind for the series, but it one that will be very different than that of the book. Of course, they also want to keep themselves going for much longer than their original 13-episode order, and with that in mind they would virtually have to stray from the book since there is only so much material that you could pull from it.